Here in Middlebury (and a lot of Vermont), we have a community forum called Front Porch Forum. Their motto is “helping neighbors connect.” People post anything they want to share…anything…from opinions about local politics to a lost cat, to something they want to sell or give away. It really is a sweet way to connect with the local community and often, folks are helped out quickly when they post a need.
The other day, a neighbor around the corner posted that he had free apples for the picking from the tree in his yard. So I picked a big bag full and got to work on a couple of apple recipes for the GAPS Dinner Club and my own table.
A few things made were:
- Applesauce
- Apple pear sauce (I got free pears from another neighbor!)
- Fresh pressed apple juice
- This recipe of baked apples
May you enjoy this recipe in your autumn days.
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Description
GAPS Diet Baked Apples
Ingredients
Scale
- 6 large baking apples (Cortland, Honeycrisp, Empire, etc.)
- 3 lemon wedges
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1/8 teaspoon ginger
- 4 – 6 teaspoons honey
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup apple cider or fresh apple juice
- Honey sweetened 24-hr sour cream, for serving (optional)
- Cinnamon, for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°
- Line an 8 x 11 baking dish with parchment paper
- Cut a small cap off the top of each apple, and set aside
- Using a paring knife or corer, core the apples (try not to go all the way to the bottom)
- Cut away and reserve about 1/2 inch of peel around the tops of the apples
- Rub the peeled portions of the apples with the lemon & squeeze a little lemon juice inside
- Fill each apple with an equal amount of raisins, a pinch of ginger, and pressing down lightly as needed to push bits into the opening
- Pour 1/2 teaspoon honey over the raisins and ginger in each apple. Cut the butter into 6 pieces, and top each apple with a pat
- Pop the caps back on the apples
- Transfer the apples, lemon wedges and a few of the reserved peels into the 8 x 11 dish; pour in the cider or juice, and stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons honey to the juice
- Bake the apples, basting occasionally with the cider and honey, until you can poke them with a knife or skewer and not meet much resistance, 50 – 70 minutes. Check early and often, as you might need more or less time.
- Let them cool for at least 15 minutes before serving w/ cinnamon & sour cream sweetened to taste with raw honey
3 thoughts on “GAPS Diet Baked Apples”
Love baked apples! Good variations are: chopped nuts to replace raisins, maple syrup or coconut sugar to reface honey, and top with a couple of tablespoons of cream or a dab of whipped cream. That cream topping seems to add a whole ‘nether dimension. It is good to know that a longtime favourite dessert is acceptable on the GAPS menu.
Yes! Baked apples are a GAPS dessert too with a few distinctions. Raw honey works, but maple syrup and coconut sugar would need to be saved for post-GAPS. The same with 24-hr sour cream vs. whipped cream. The 24-hr sour cream makes dairy doable in this recipe 🙂
Hope you like it!
Melanie
Darn spell-checker!!!